Dear Sisters and Brothers of St. Raphael,
Thank you for your patience these past few weeks as the parish staff and I worked together to review different options for Faith Formation and Sacrament preparation this Fall. You have all been in our prayers during this time!
As I mentioned in my
homily at all Masses on October 4 and in my e-newsletter message on October 8, Jesus, who always pours out more of his love for us, is calling us as a parish to bear even more
good fruit. Through the generosity of so many at St. Raphael for so many years, good fruit has been happening in Faith Formation and Youth Ministry. I believe that now is the time for us as a parish to innovate further amid our changed circumstances so we can become
even more fruitful in living our vision to help people encounter Jesus and form them as passionate disciples who live his mission by their lives. And so, in my e-newsletter message on October 8, I announced an exciting new top priority for St. Raphael at this time:
To become a parish that provides both in-person and digital opportunities to live our faith together through a vibrant weekend experience and small groups. And I explain there why this priority is important. If you’ve not seen it yet, please click here to
read or
watch the video of last week’s message.
Please also
click here to see my e-newsletter message in
written or
video form for today, October 15, for a full explanation of why and how we need to allow the time, energy, and resources for leaders to work on this priority. For now, I want to let you know that in order for staff to have the capacity to engage in this work, I’ve made the following decisions for
at least through January 1, 2021, and perhaps longer if needed:
During the time that on-campus Faith Formation is on hold, we encourage you to keep Sunday holy by attending Mass as a family, either in person or online for one of our livestreaming Masses. To sign up to receive the weekly emails with digital faith formation resources and activities that you you can do at home as a family visit
https://www.saintraphael.org/celebrate-sundays. These are ways to help you continue to form your children in the faith in your “domestic church” at home, which is always the first and primary place of forming young disciples of Jesus.
As the parish staff and I begin work on this new top priority, we are committed to making decisions that care for everyone in our large, diverse parish community in soul, mind, and body. I ask each of you to join us in praying for the success of this work to move from good to better in bearing fruit as a parish.
St. Raphael…..pray for us!
Fr. Phil
Pastor